USDA project sequences wheat genome

The “shotgun sequencing” was reported in the journal Nature, and is expected to help increase wheat yields and thereby increase food security, while hurrying the development of enhanced wheat with higher nutritional content, according to the USDA, which worked with an international team on the project.

Wheat is considered to be one of the world’s most vital staple crops. Approximately 20 percent of the calories consumed by humans globally comes from wheat in bread. About 681 million tons of wheat were produced last year, according to the study.

The information derived from wheat’s genome is expected to be especially critical in breeding wheat to withstand drought, pests, disease and weeds in Africa and Asia. Additionally, wheat producers face problems such as soil acidity and diseases such as stem rust, which can devastate entire crops, according to the USDA.